One CGIAR – Building a Unified Global Brand System
Winner
Excellent Brands
Service Brand of the Year
Details
CGIAR translates agricultural research into tangible solutions for food security, climate adaptation, and biodiversity. As a system brand, CGIAR connects 13 research centres and twelve Scientific Programs under a clearly led master brand. A strengthened logo, defined colour architecture, global typefaces, and a modular sub-brand and pattern system create visibility, differentiation, and scalability. The result is a coherent brand foundation that makes complexity understandable and global impact clearly communicable.
The Jury‘s Statement
Where many research centres, programmes and partners operate under one name, brand architecture determines orientation and manageability. Merkle Switzerland therefore repositions CGIAR as a clearly led system brand: with a sharpened logo, globally deployable typography, and a modular sub-brand system that allows for distinction without weakening the master brand. For a brand that organises collaboration across many contexts, the value of this work lies in its balance of differentiation, unity, and reliable applicability.
